Nitinol cymbal transducers for tuneable ultrasonic devices

Feeney, Andrew (2014) Nitinol cymbal transducers for tuneable ultrasonic devices. PhD thesis, University of Glasgow.

Abstract

In recent years, there has been notable interest in the integration of smart and active materials, such as shape memory alloys, in the design of tuneable and multiple frequency devices. There is a growing desire to be able to tune transducers for a range of applications. As an example, surgical procedures could be enhanced by using an ultrasonic device whose performance could be tailored to penetrate more than one material, such as bone and soft tissue. Research conducted on cymbal transducers, a type of Class V flextensional transducer developed at Pennsylvania State University in the early 1990s, has been largely limited to low power applications, such as for hydrophone systems, and their performance in high power applications has only recently been studied. As such, the integration of smart materials to expand the useful applications of this type of transducer has not been fully explored. In this investigation, a shape memory alloy (SMA) called nickel-titanium, or Nitinol, has been adopted in two forms, one being superelastic and the other shape memory, as the end-cap material in the classical cymbal transducer configuration. The resonant frequencies of these transducers can be tuned by changes to the temperature of the Nitinol, which alters the microstructure, and the modulus, of the material. The microstructure of Nitinol can also be controlled by changes in applied stress. The phases present in the Nitinol microstructure are relatively hard cubic austenite and comparably soft monoclinic martensite. An intermediate phase, called the R-phase, can also appear. This is a rhombohedral distortion of austenite, and has been known to be a source of inconvenience for those who wish to avoid multiple stage transformations. An advantage of using Nitinol end-caps in the classical cymbal transducer configuration is that they are very small, hence minimal thermal energy is required to generate a phase transformation. Also, cymbal transducers are very simple and inexpensive to fabricate.

The first part of this research focuses on the development of a dual resonance cymbal transducer using steel and titanium as the end-cap materials. Dynamic analysis techniques comprising electrical impedance measurements, experimental modal analysis (EMA) and vibration resonance response characterisation (VRRC) using laser Doppler vibrometry are introduced and form the dynamic characterisation process. The experimental data is supported in part by finite element analysis (FEA). It is demonstrated that a major problem in cymbal transducer fabrication is the difficulty in controlling the deposition of epoxy resin which is used to create the mechanical coupling in the transducer. This means that the bond layers in a transducer will likely be dissimilar, thereby introducing asymmetry into the transducer. This asymmetry can contribute to the dual resonance in a cymbal transducer.

The cymbal transducer is designed to be actively tuneable by the incorporation of Nitinol end-caps in the transducer assembly. The characterisation of Nitinol transducers is performed using the dynamic characterisation methods in conjunction with differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). This is a thermoanalytical technique which has been adopted to estimate the transformation temperatures of Nitinol, and hence the temperatures at which each transducer must be driven to generate the desired operating frequencies. It is demonstrated that in certain cases, particularly with respect to superelastic Nitinol, the estimations of the transformation temperatures from the DSC analysis of Nitinol can be misinterpreted.

The dynamic performance of Nitinol vibrating at ultrasonic frequencies has not before been the subject of detailed investigation, including the influence of superelasticity on the vibration response of an ultrasonic transducer. Superelasticity occurs in the austenite phase of Nitinol, where austenite reorients to martensite after a characteristic stress threshold is passed, thereby accommodating very large strains. The results show that whilst Nitinol can be used to fabricate cymbal transducers with tuneable resonant frequencies, there is no evidence that superelasticity contributes to the vibration response of the transducers. The incorporation of shape memory Nitinol in a simple prototype actuator device is also considered, where it appears that the transformation of the shape memory Nitinol is affected by the affixed cylinders used to create the device.

• Item Type: Thesis (PhD)
• Qualification Level: Doctoral
• Keywords: Ultrasonic transducer, shape memory alloy, nitinol
• Subjects: Q Science > Q Science (General); T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery
• Colleges/Schools: College of Science and Engineering > School of Engineering > Systems Power and Energy
• Supervisor's Name: Lucas, Professor Margaret
• Date of Award: 2014
• Depositing User: Dr Andrew Feeney
• Unique ID: glathesis:2014-5805
• Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
• Date Deposited: 03 Dec 2014 08:30
• Last Modified: 16 Dec 2014 14:38
• URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/5805